Bengaluru: The ongoing ideological battle between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Congress over the Preamble to the Constitution intensified on Monday, as Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, jumped into the fray and directly countered Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s recent statements.
The row began with RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale questioning the inclusion of the words ‘socialism’ and ‘secularism’ in the Preamble, calling it a “Congress conspiracy” introduced during the Emergency. Siddaramaiah had lashed out in response, accusing the RSS of pushing a “Manusmriti agenda” and attempting to undermine the Constitution.
R Ashoka hit back, saying, “We don’t even know who this ‘Manu’ is. Siddaramaiah’s obsession with Manu must be his own construct.” He added that the RSS and BJP have always stood by the Constitution and accused the Congress of hypocrisy. “If you call us communal, should we now proudly declare we are communal? What right does Congress have to question anyone, when they themselves manipulated the Constitution during the Emergency through the 42nd Amendment?”
The BJP has consistently criticised the 42nd Constitutional Amendment introduced by Indira Gandhi’s government during the Emergency in 1976, which added the terms ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ to the Preamble. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, who participated in the BJP’s “Constitution Killing Day” event in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, said that nearly 50% of the Constitution was altered during that period, accusing the Congress of undermining democratic institutions and judicial independence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, weighed in on Sunday through his Mann Ki Baat address, recalling the horrors of the Emergency and alleging that constitutional values were murdered during that dark chapter.
Meanwhile, Congress leaders have questioned whether the BJP and RSS would prefer to replace ‘secularism’ and ‘socialism’ with ‘communalism’ in the Preamble. “You seek caste census data, but also oppose words like equality and secularism—this is double standard,” they argued.
With sharp ideological lines being drawn and both parties invoking Dr. B R Ambedkar’s legacy, the debate over the soul of the Constitution seems far from over. As both sides dig in, the battle between the ‘original’ and the ‘amended’ Constitution has become a new political flashpoint in Karnataka and beyond.
